


Cyrano de Janeway

by LZClotho (LZielinsky)



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Cyrano de Bergerac retelling, F/F, Idiots in Love, Pining, Romantic Overtures, Wooing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LZielinsky/pseuds/LZClotho
Summary: Harry Kim asks for Janeway's help in wooing Seven of Nine. Retelling "Cyrano de Bergerac" 24th century style.
Relationships: Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	Cyrano de Janeway

**Author's Note:**

> originally written in 2002. The story is set after "Someone to Watch Over Me" where Seven attempts dating (disastrously) with Lt. Chapman.

**Chapter One**

"You want me to do what?" Kathryn whispered, trying to hide her surprise.

"Captain, please, just ... hear me out. I know it's unusual, but... you spend so much time with her. You know... how to talk to her... to ask her... how she feels about me?"

Janeway studied the ensign who had asked, unusually, for entrance to her quarters. It was, 1945 hours, late Beta shift, and she knew he was slated to command Gamma tonight, as part of his command track service hours. Even out here in the Delta quadrant, she had tried to offer enough opportunities for her small crew to pursue the advancements they would have had ample opportunity for back home. It gave them all something to work for, that had nothing to do with the harshness of the reality that they were so far away from home that it was likely none of them would leave Voyager before the end of their careers.

Harry Kim's request however had nothing to do with command promotion. He stood almost as stiffly as the first day she had met him and she wondered how in the world he could breathe holding his body that still.

She swallowed, and leaned forward on her sofa, setting her coffee down on the low table before speaking. "Harry, are you asking me for permission to date Seven of Nine?"

"I... yeah. You, um, have to say it's okay."

"She's not alien and I'm not her mother," Kathryn said, letting some amusement slip into her voice. "If you want to ask her out, just do it."

"She just looks at me in that inscrutable way of hers... makes me feel like she has no idea."

"She's not very experienced, but she would probably like the same things any girl you wanted to court would."

"She tried dating. Said I wasn't even in the running."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. She picked Bill Chapman. Apparently they had dinner, but it didn't go well. Captain...please, I know Seven would... if she'd just give me a chance. I love her."

She considered that. Harry had been attracted to the rescued young woman from the first, but Seven had been hardly aware of herself, much less the emotional reactions of others around her. Back then. Janeway knew Seven had changed since that first year. She had discovered compassion, friendship, even loyalty. Janeway had been the object of that loyalty, an intensity of purpose that saw the young woman working constantly on the slipstream adaptations she was positive would speed Voyager's journey. Certainly romantic love wasn't impossible now. "Just ask her, Harry."

"I've tried. I keep messing it up. She talks so easily with you. You could help her see me as not so much of a goofball."

"A goofball? Ensign Harry Kim, prized member of my crew, you are not a goofball." She stood up and walked around behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're sweet and sensitive."

He glanced at her. "So, does this mean you'll help me?"

She grinned and patted the shoulder. "All right."

**Chapter Two**

Helping Harry proved to be a more complex task than Janeway anticipated. It was easy enough to bring up the young man in conversation with Seven. It seemed the woman was always amenable to spending her time with Janeway after Alpha shift. They would exhaust themselves in the holodeck playing Velocity. Or discuss the day's events, as the captain, like her security chief, made rounds of the ship.

However, Seven politely listened, nothing more. Janeway never got the impression that the former Borg was personally interested in Harry. In fact, Janeway was becoming distinctly heartbroken on behalf of Ensign Kim as Seven regarded news of him with studied tolerance. Perhaps a more direct approach would be necessary. Janeway decided to arrange a dinner for herself, Kim, Chakotay, and Seven in her quarters.

* * *

  
It was another Velocity match when she invited Seven. Earlier in the day she had informed Chakotay and Harry they were expected in her quarters at 1900 hours. Hoping to find just the right opening, Janeway kept up a light roll of banter as she and Seven leaped around the deck, bouncing, rolling and flipping off and over the beams and one another as they fired on the lighted disc.

Red-sided at the moment, the devilish disc sped toward her head. Ducking, she fired up, forcing the disc, now blue, end over end into the side wall. It careened off back toward her. Seven leaped to interpose herself and make the shot, but Janeway, calculating, held her ground and prevented Seven from getting a clear view until it was almost too late, a tactical maneuver.

Janeway felt Seven's elbow hit her chest with the force of a sledgehammer and their feet tangled as she went down. She yelped in pain as the larger woman sprawled atop her, dazed for a long breathless moment. Seven spun over, practically leaping backward onto her feet. "Captain!"

Blinking to clear the tears from her vision, Janeway accepted the offered hand. She felt the contained power in Seven's arm as she was hauled to her feet. She groaned against the light pull in her chest muscles. Going to be one hell of a bruise. She bent over her knees and massaged the sore spot as she tried to catch her breath.

"You are all right?"

"Yes, Seven. I'm fine. Just had the wind knocked out of me." She lifted her head but Seven beat her to the command.

"Computer, freeze program."

Kathryn turned her head to the side and saw the rebounding disc centimeters from her face.

"Thanks," she acknowledged.

"You are welcome."

Gingerly straightening up, Janeway gestured toward the doorway. "My towel, please? Give me five minutes?"

"As you wish." Seven stepped back, crossing her hands behind her back in her typical pose.

Janeway moved to the bench and lowered herself carefully, leaning her head back against the wall to rest a moment. She watched Seven under half-closed lids and then decided it was as good a time as any as she noticed the young woman shifting uneasily. "How would you like to come to my quarters for dinner tonight?"

"Captain?" The long, leonine neck twisted and placid blue eyes were wide as they regarded her.

"I was just thinking we usually head to the mess hall after the match. Why don't we try something different? My quarters. I can cook us something and we'll have a quiet place to talk."

"The mess hall is 'the center of Voyager life'," Seven quoted, undoubtedly something Janeway herself had espoused at some point. "You have always thought it would benefit my ...adaptation to spend as much time there as possible."

"It's acceptable to not eat there too," Janeway said with a chuckle. "I didn't mean to make it sound like an order. I'm sorry if I did."

"No. It was... my misunderstanding." Seven shifted.

Janeway patted the bench. "Have a seat," she said with a smile.

The blonde did as she asked. She sat down very straight, knees tucked together palms stiffly in her lap. She turned toward the captain, her head tilted slightly to look directly on her. "Yes?"

Janeway was struck suddenly by how very blue the eyes were regarding her. "Well, I was going to host a dinner in my quarters tonight. Commander Chakotay and Mr. Kim will be there. I thought you would like to join us."

Seven turned her head aside for a moment, and Janeway was drawn to the long fingered hands moving over black spandex as the younger woman squeezed her thighs lightly.

"Seven?"

"I accept."

Again, those blue eyes pinned Janeway. "All right. If we go now, I can help you find something to wear. Something a little less formal perhaps?"

Seven nodded. "Do you wish to continue our match to its conclusion first?"

Janeway pushed off the bench with a groan then chuckled. "I'd like that. Besides, I can't let this be the first time you beat me, hmm?"

The two women took up positions opposite one another, phasers aimed at a point centrally between them.

Janeway flexed her shoulders and watched Seven's twitch in readiness. "Computer, restart round 6."

The previous game disc vanished and a new one dropped into play from directly above them. Tracking it, Janeway watched it go from neutral yellow to blue. Seven took a step back, turned and fired, changing the disc and lateraling it toward the captain.

"Nice shot!" Janeway dropped and fired, tipping the disc end over end, back toward her opponent.

"Just keep playing!" Seven shouted back, making Janeway laugh but also dodge as the disc unexpectedly leveled out, aimed right for her feet. There was no hope for it. She leaped up, but the disc impacted the ground before she could fire on it.

"Point, Seven of Nine. Seven of Nine leads five rounds to three."

Janeway shook her phaser toward the placidly standing blonde. "Damn good shot."

"Thank you, captain." Janeway watched Seven position herself and did the same.

"Computer, next play."

Another disc appeared and play resumed.

* * *

At the conclusion of their holodeck time, Seven of Nine and Captain Kathryn Janeway stepped out into Voyager's corridor, meeting up with a smiling couple Ensigns Gerald Firth and Teri Michaels. "Captain? Seven?" the two exclaimed as they rounded the corner finding their captain laughing and Seven standing bemused.

"Ensigns," Seven offered in her typical austere voice.

"Hello," Janeway offered, wrapping her towel around her neck and gripping its ends in her hands. "Come on, Seven."

"Yes, Captain."

Gerald looked askance at the departing women for only a moment then stepped up to the control panel, programming the date location he had planned for his and Teri's holodeck time.

"Teri?"

Teri had leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she pondered the scene she had just witnessed. "Can you believe that?"

"What?"

"That the Borg would play Velocity with our captain."

Gerald shrugged. "Can't stand the game myself. I prefer something more subtle for my recreation." He reached out and wrapped an arm around Teri's waist, tugging the woman closer then kissing her. "Ready to go inside?" he asked when they parted.

Whenever you are," Teri offered coyly, then stepped into the door sensor and led the way inside.

**Chapter Three**

"Come on in, Seven," Janeway offered as she led the way into her quarters on Deck 3. "Make yourself at home. Can I get you something to drink? Non-alcoholic, I promise," she forestalled with a hand. "I remember how synthehol affects your systems."

"Thank you, Captain. I believe I will have a light fruit juice."

"Anything in particular?"

"You may suggest something."

"All right." Janeway stepped up to the replicator and ordered two glasses of mango juice. "Here you are." She settled on the arm of the sofa briefly, passing one of the glasses to her guest. She tilted her glass toward Seven's. "A toast," she said after the clink. "To good friends."

Seven nodded, accepting the toast. She echoed softly, "Good friends," then sipped demurely from her glass.

Janeway finished off her juice quickly then set the glass down. "I had better shower. Do you need anything to freshen up?" She suddenly took a good look at Seven.

The young woman's flaxen hair was still mostly tucked neatly up, but several tendrils had loosened and fallen around her face. A face that was placid and clear.

"Don't you ever sweat?"

"My Borg systems are efficient at handling such matters," Seven said.

Janeway considered that, leaning against the doorway for a moment. "You never seem to get much of a workout when we play."

"Do you wish to terminate our matches?" Seven looked distinctly uncomfortable with the possibility.

Janeway was quick to offer an alternative. "Well, it's important to have a good cardiovascular regimen. Perhaps you need a stronger opponent? Maybe Harry Kim? I understand he  
was quite an athlete in the Academy."

"I have regular conditioning with Mr. Tuvok," Seven responded quietly. "I don't believe that Mr. Kim would be a suitable replacement for either of you in my daily regimen."

"Oh. Well. All right." Janeway straightened up. "I'll be right back. Then we'll get you ready."

Seven did not respond; Kathryn watched her settle back on the sofa before she left the room. The shower was short and the dress chosen quickly. She pinned up her hair loosely and returned to the living room.

Seven had begun prowling, Janeway realized, finding the woman, instead of on the sofa, by the large windows dominating the exterior wall, watching the stars streak past as she sipped from her juice.

"Ready?"

Seven turned and Janeway felt herself examined quietly by the tall blonde. "You are not wearing your uniform."

"No, I said this wouldn't be formal. Come on in here and we'll find something for you."

Seven found that Janeway's tastes, unlike the Doctor, were decidedly more... sedate. The blonde soon slipped out of her velocity suit. Janeway averted her eyes politely while presenting her with a pale blue shift that just topped her thighs. The captain assessed her quietly and Seven tried to decipher the look in the darkening blue eyes. "Captain?"

"Well, now we have to find you a dress," Kathryn said, clearing her throat, stunned at the change. "Should we take your hair down?" She swallowed at the image and wondered if Harry Kim was going to survive his first look at a transformed Seven of Nine. She wondered if she would survive the encounter herself.

Seven reached up and withdrew several pins, letting her hair fall against her shoulders and shook her head to loosen the tresses. The Doctor's lessons were coming back one at a time. But she felt no nervousness swirling in her stomach now as she had then.

"Your dress," Janeway reminded herself. "Come on." She walked to her replicator again and tapped up a menu. "What do you think?"

Seven, standing behind the captain, studied her garment and found it aestetically pleasing.

"What about this?" she suggested. She pointed to a similar garment to the captain's and then looked  
down, her gaze drawn to the light dusting of freckles across the smooth expanse of bare  
shoulders.

"All right." Janeway tapped the commands and retrieved a dark blue version of the black sheath she wore. She turned around and handed the garment to Seven.  
"Thank you." Seven eased the silky fabric over her head and down her sides, covering the shift and smoothing it just past her knees. Janeway's fingers slipped across her shoulders, smoothing the line of the thin straps, then the line of the garment where it covered her breasts.

"You're welcome." Seven looked down as the captain looked up. The woman's hands were light and warm against the bare skin of her upper chest, and Seven watched as Janeway smiled, leaning up briefly to offer a kiss to Seven's cheek.

"It's going to be all right, Seven." Janeway stepped back and appraised her with another smile, nodding approval. "Well." The captain's chest expanded briefly with a long in-drawn breath. "Let's get dinner on the table."

Seven nodded, following the captain out into the main room, and the food replicator there. She listened quietly as Janeway ordered a roasted chicken and steamed vegetables dish. Assisting, she followed Janeway's directives how to set the table and arrange the covered serving dishes.

Janeway stepped back after passing over the last dish, a cherry cheesecake, and watched her protege complete the table setting. Harry was one very lucky man if Seven turned her attentions on him, Kathryn thought, watching the lithe body move around the small table, muscular arms flexing easily. Pleased she had not suggested jewelry, Janeway noted Seven's implants accented her looks.

She touched Seven's back, drawing the woman's attention. "Let's have a seat."

Seven turned and followed Janeway back to the sofa. This time they sat together. Janeway started the ball rolling with a topic she knew Seven felt comfortable. "Why don't you tell me about the slipstream work you and B'Elanna have been doing?"

While Seven was explaining the latest setback as "a minor fluctuation in the ion flow rate which will be corrected for the next test", Janeway heard the chime at her door. She patted Seven's knee to still the woman's tongue and stood. "1900 hours. They must be hungry. Wait here."

Approaching the doorway she addressed it. "Come in."

Seven rose quickly when Commander Chakotay and Harry Kim, both dressed in casual attire, stepped across the threshold. Chakotay presented Janeway with a bottle of wine. The Borg's heart shuddered slightly when she saw the smile Janeway had given her earlier bestowed on the Commander. She almost did not notice Harry Kim's approach to her. He held a floral collection in his hands and ducked his head as he offered them to her.

"These are for you. A hybrid I was working on in the airponics bay."

She took them, offering a puzzled expression then caught Janeway's nod past the ensign's shoulder. "Thank you, Ensign Kim."

"Ah," Chakotay corrected, leaning on the corner of the sofa. "Everyone's on a first name basis tonight. Right, Kathryn?"

Janeway nodded. "Of course."

"Then I should say... 'Thank you, Harry'." Seven ducked her head at Kim's wide beaming smile.

"You're welcome, Seven." The ensign offered a gentle inflection on her name. She understood he meant the gesture sincerely and nodded, taking the plants gingerly in her hands.

"Let me get you some water for those." Janeway -- _Kathryn_ , Seven corrected in her mind rather liking the sound of it, stepped close. Seven relinquished the flowers and stood still, tucking her hands behind her back as the captain requested a vase of water from the replicator and set the floral collection in the center of their dining table. "Looks beautiful, Harry. Why don't we all sit down?"

Chakotay smiled and held a chair back for Kathryn, taking the seat to her left for himself. Seven watched Harry copy the first officer and settled into the seat he held out for her.

"Looks great, Captain." The young man looked up and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, I mean... Kath...ryn." Apparently he was not as comfortable as Chakotay or herself saying the captain's given name, because that was the first and last time all night Harry Kim used it.

Seven found it an interesting study in linguistic flexibility identifying all the ways that he addressed the captain without actually addressing her.

They moved through the meal which was suitably aromatic and the captain was complimented by Chakotay, which seemed to surprise him as much as the captain. Seven remarked on it, when the first officer had made yet another remark in the space of just a few minutes.

"The meal's components are pleasing. However, I am puzzled why it seems a particular point to repeatedly note?"

Kathryn's smile was bemused, as she paused in her own consumption of dinner, the fork dangling from her fingers as she crossed her hands under her chin. "It's all right, Seven. The last meal I had the... Chakotay over for didn't turn out quite so well. We consider it a bit of a joke."

Chakotay nodded. "Just one of those things we discovered about one another that works to put a little levity in our relationship."

"Laughter is an important part of a romantic relationship?" She looked to Janeway.

"It can be." Janeway corrected her impression. "But Chakotay and I aren't involved. No matter what rumors circulate among the crew." Janeway smiled. "Laughter is also an important part of friendship."

Kathryn requested the platter of vegetables which were positioned between Harry and Seven. Both reached for it. Moving hurriedly, Harry knocked over his glass and when he bent forward to pick it up, his head hit the table edge, upsetting the vegetable bowl, which Seven had only begun lifting. Seven managed to rescue the entire thing from falling to the floor, but when she sat back, she found Chakotay chuckling and Kathryn hiding her mouth behind a napkin, blue eyes twinkling.

Harry came up beside her rubbing his head. A strange sensation deep in the pit of her stomach quirked her lips, and she felt a sound tickle in her throat. Chakotay and Kathryn looked at her in amazement as the sound grew more full. Kathryn's hands dropped from her mouth. The captain bore a light, open expression and a soft sound issued from her lips as well... laughter. The laughter softened to a chuckle and then quieted altogether. "Oh, Seven," Janeway said, her gaze fascinated and soft.

Dropping his hand from his head, Harry finally started to chuckle himself. "Well, I guess hat broke the ice."

Seven nodded, a little awed as the sounds of their mutual laughter trickled away. "We are beginning a friendship," she acknowledged, offering Harry a smile.

He nodded back. "Yeah, I think we are." Harry reached across the space on the table and slipped his left hand over Seven's right.

Janeway could only stare, trying to hide it behind a sip from her wineglass. Well, this was certainly turning out as she had hoped, perhaps even better.  
So why did she feel something was terribly wrong?

A glance at Chakotay and she diverted everyone with a change in conversation. "So..." She couldn't look at Seven or Harry. "Chakotay, how's the officer training going?" Her first officer picked up the thread smoothly, starting an informative discussion, which Harry could contribute to, describing the program of study that was addressing officer advancement training from someone as unaffiliated as Icheb, up to Harry's own command schooling.

**Chapter Four**

The next morning perusing personnel reports, Janeway was surprised to hear a chime at her door. "Come in." Harry Kim stepped through the open doorway, surprising Janeway. "Something wrong on the bridge?" she asked, starting to her feet.

"No, ma'am." Harry shifted immediately from his reassuring tone and straightened quickly back into "formation." Janeway shook her head.

"Well then, out with it."

"Permission to speak freely?"

She lifted an eyebrow but consented. "Granted."

He prevaricated for a moment more. "I've... I enjoyed dinner last night. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind."

"Well, I'll have to give my replicator a pat on the console from you," Janeway mused with a chuckle. "But somehow, I don't think you were referring to the cooking."

Harry started to shake his head in denial, then slowly stopped. "You're right. Seven was... a revelation. She was so relaxed. So beautiful."

Janeway crossed her arms over her chest, listening with quiet amusement.

"When she laughed... God, Captain. I want to make that happen every day."

The captain thought back to witnessing Seven's laughter. "I'd have to agree with you there, Harry." Her stomach still fluttered with the memory of the glow on the woman's face as their eyes met across the table.

The young man asked, "Did... did she say anything after Chakotay and I left?"

Janeway considered her answer. After the men took their leave, Seven had in fact settled to the sofa silent, in Janeway's opinion a little in awe of herself and the evening's events. She had been quietly distracted during the clean-up of the meal, and Janeway had finally just patted her on the shoulder and excused her back to the sofa. They talked quietly of the coming day's schedule. She let Seven go at last, to regenerate. Seven confessed to agitation. Janeway said a good night's sleep would help.

Kathryn looked at Harry now and said, "She had a pleasant evening."

"Oh, that's great!" Harry put his hands on his hips then stepped back and rubbed them together nervously. "Do... Would she go out with me again?"

"Ask her yourself."

Harry started to say something, then groaned and threw up his hands. "I can't! I... I wouldn't know what to say. She'll just shoot me down."

"Harry." Janeway rubbed the bridge of her nose between her fingertips. "Listen. Relax. If you don't talk to her, this isn't going to go anywhere."

"What do I say? I want to tell her how I feel. I just get tongue-tied in her presence." He paused. "I went by Astrometrics this morning. To say something? And all I could come up with is 'hello'."

"Come on, Harry. Listen, if you can't talk to her face to face, you still need to say something."

"What?"

"I don't know." She cast about for any idea. "Try writing her a note?"

His frustration vanished. "Hey, that's it!" He asked for a padd. She shifted the data from one on her desk and passed it to him. He looked at the blank space for a long moment though then back up at her. "Oh no."

Janeway pursed her lips and patted his shoulder. "Oh, Harry." She shook her head. "How can you find it so difficult to talk to her?"

He countered, "How can you find it so easy?" He followed her to the upper level of the ready room and sat down next to her on the wide sweep of sofa under the window.

"She's thoughtful. Intelligent. And doesn't like subterfuge. Just be straight with her about how you feel, and that you'd like to go out with her." Janeway paused as she realized

Harry was entering things quickly into the padd. When she stopped speaking he looked up. "Yeah? Go on."

"Compliment her about last night," Janeway suggested. "All the things you noticed about her." He tapped in something. "May I?"

He passed it over anxious for her opinion. "Well?"

The letter was... certainly original, Janeway thought. But Seven's appearance hadn't been "adequate" -- somehow Harry's way of being restrained as the young woman herself was. Seven had been beautiful. "You really need to say beautiful, Harry. She is, and saying anything less than you mean... she'll see it as insincere."

Harry changed it and passed it back. "How's that?"

Janeway groaned. Now it was too flowery. She changed it to something less so and passed it back. "Read that."

"Yeah, that's it!" Harry grinned. He entered something else, about a detail from their conversation about the officer's program.

Janeway shook her head. "You want to point out the non-duty-related things you liked, Harry. This is a personal note, not a shift report." She thought for a moment. "What about when she laughed. Didn't you find that special?"

He flushed. "She was wonderful."

"Like music wasn't it?" Janeway said. "That's the sort of thing you need to write." She tapped in a few words. "And then you invite her to join you someplace for lunch tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why not today?"

"Because she has a duty shift off tomorrow. Her work is very important to her, Harry. Show her you understand that and learn when her off-shifts are. Arrange things for those times. It's considerate."

Harry nodded. "You're right."

Janeway patted his shoulder. "Right." She started to her feet. "Now, go give it to her. She should be able to give you an answer at the same time. You'll know where you stand."

"Oh, I couldn't!"

"You wrote the note, Harry."

"But I couldn't give it to her. That's... so... forward." He held it out. "Couldn't you... Please?"

Janeway put her hands on her hips trying for a look of frustration but Harry was giving her apleading look. "Oh, all right."

"Yes!" He jumped up from the sofa and laughed. "This is going to be perfect."

"Go back to your post. I'll give it to her in a little while, all right?"

"Thank you. Thank you, Captain!" He grasped her right hand in both of his and shook it repeatedly. "Really!"

She stood, a bit stunned, as he left quickly. Shaking her head she studied the brief note and tucked it on her desk, for later delivery.

* * *

Chakotay came at the end of shift to see if she was going off duty. Janeway nodded, stood and picked up the padd that had been figuratively burning a hole in her desk for the balance of the shift.

Every time she glanced at the padd, perched there on the top corner, she had to pause, pick it up and read it again. She chuckled, and nodded. Seven was going to be baffled a bit by the young man's approach, Janeway thought.

"Taking work home?" Chakotay asked, gesturing to the padd.

"Just delivering a few things to Astrometrics before I head to my quarters." She walked, quietly reading the padd, and in the end, added a few things she was sure Harry had meant to say but left off out of fear of rejection. She called up the memory of Seven at dinner as she walked down the corridor toward the lab.

The doors parted at her approach and she looked up. Seven stood quietly at the console, inputting data. Her head bent to her task, she did not register the captain's entrance. Kathryn studied the smooth profile as she came alongside.

Her lips quirked a smile as Seven finally acknowledged her with a quiet, "Captain."

"Hello." Janeway tucked the padd under her arm as she leaned on the console. "How was your day?"

"I have almost completed entering data on the next 53 light years. Mr. Paris should be able to calculate a more accurate flight plan in the morning."

"I'm sure he's looking forward to it." She rubbed the side of the padd under her arm and took a deep breath. "I have something for you."

Seven paused in her data entry and turned. She took the padd offered and looked from it back to the captain before activating the viewscreen. "What is it?"

"Why don't you read it and tell me?"

Scanning the message tucked in her left hand, Seven reported, "It is a message from Ensign Kim." She paused, clearly puzzled as her brows drew down and together. "He was pleased to see me at dinner last night."

Janeway put a hand over Seven's. "You don't have to read it aloud," she assured. "Just... give me the gist of it."

"He requests my attendance at lunch tomorrow?"

Kathryn smiled and pulled her hand back. "Well?"

"How should I respond?"

"Do you want to go with him to lunch?"

"The invitation... intrigues me."

"Harry's certainly an intriguing fellow."

"You believe I should go."

"Seven," Janeway patted her arm and brushed her fingers down over Seven's left Borg-enhanced hand. "You don't need me to give you a meter-stick to measure your responses. If you want to go... you've grown enough to make your own decisions."

Seven looked again from the padd to the captain and back again. "I will go. Will you help me choose something appropriate to wear to an off-duty lunch?"

Kathryn looked up into pale blue uncertain eyes, warmed by the trust she saw there, and smiled. "If you like."

**Chapter Five**

"You're really concerned about this."

"Hmm?" Janeway looked at her lunch companion, B'Elanna Torres. The two women frequently shared a mid-shift meal to informally share status reports. The meetings were fine, but Janeway had found the woman she had installed as Chief Engineer showed her brilliance best when they could get together one-on-one and protocol be damned. Even now, years later, B'Elanna was still unconventional in her thinking and reluctant to sometimes offer a path if it wasn't "Starfleet issue."

"Seven and Harry," B'Elanna clarified her earlier comment. "You're really concerned that it'll work out."

"Shouldn't I be? She's new at this. And I don't want Harry hurt either."

"Who's to say either of them is going to get hurt?" B'Elanna asked. "Don't you think Harry's right for her?"

Janeway turned and watched Harry offering Seven a refill on her drink. He hardly spoke  
practically pantomiming his offer and struggled clumsily out of his seat when the blonde finally nodded. "I wouldn't have agreed to help him otherwise, would I?"

B'Elanna appeared to ponder that for a moment, then picked up her utensil almost covering her response in a forkful of stew. "I don't know. You tell me."

"Excuse me," the captain responded with distraction. Janeway had watched Harry returning to his table with their refilled drinks in his hands. When he stopped and leaned down to put it in front of Seven, the liquid splashed, his hands were shaking so badly. The mess was small, but stained the shoulder of Seven's top.

Harry reached for a napkin and knocked his plate into his own lap. Sitting down hard he ineffectually tried to clean his uniform. Seven started to her feet. "No, Seven, wait. Please. I'm sorry about the mess. I'll help you clean it up, just..." He stood up, dumping the rest of his plate on the floor.

"Ensign Kim, it is clear you have become too distracted to continue this. I should be going."

"Seven, wait." Janeway appeared at the blonde's shoulder, putting her hand on Seven's arm. "Harry, go in back and clean up, all right?" She turned back to Seven. "I'll talk to Seven."

Harry's acquiescence came out in an embarrassed, "Yes, ma'am" as he walked away.

"Come on. Have a seat." Janeway led Seven to another table. "You've got to give Harry a chance," she said. "He's trying very hard to make a good impression. Probably too hard. But that's what happens when someone in love."

"Ensign Kim is in love with me?"

"You have worked closely over the years. In that time, you've spent a lot of time together and he's realized he would like to form a more... intimate... attachment. If he's making missteps it's only because he wants to impress you."

Janeway's hand light over Seven's kept the young woman in her seat. She was keenly distracted by the sensation, and forced herself to keep her eyes on the captain's, instead of  
following the motions of the woman's hand as it traced over her skin. "He... does?" she asked quietly.

Grinning, Janeway leaned back. "Ask him yourself." The older woman dropped her hand and looked up, gesturing with her chin. Seven turned to see Harry Kim walking back up, rubbing his hands together with a towel. He had cleaned himself but the young woman noticed a stain that would only come out if he recycled his tunic. "Right, Harry?"

"Captain?"

"You two just need some time away from everything to talk. Harry, why don't you two go into the holodeck. Take a walk along the beach or something. I know," she said with a smile, moving out of her seat and gently pressing Harry down into it, then leaning between them, looking from one to the other. "Fair Haven. It's as far removed from Voyager as it's possible to get."

"Fair Haven?" Seven's brow arched and Janeway smiled.

"Yes. It's quaint. And beautiful. Harry?"

"It's a nice program."

"Wouldn't you like to take Seven there for a stroll along the seaside? Or through town?"

The ensign smiled shyly at Seven. "Would you go with me to Fair Haven? Tonight?"

Seven looked dubious. A glance toward Janeway found the older woman nodding briefly and a gentle squeeze on her hand. "I accept," she said slowly, answering Harry.

The dark-haired young man smiled and nodded. "I'll make it up to you, Seven."

"All right," Seven said, though she was still clearly confused. Harry stood and left, leaving Janeway and Seven alone at the table.

"He really likes you, Seven," Janeway mused. "I'm sure it will work out."

Voyager's astrometrics officer slipped her hand from beneath the captain's and stood. "Perhaps it will."

Janeway remained seat, watching Seven leave the mess hall and puzzled over the exchange.

B'Elanna walked up, distracting her from her thoughts. "So, Seven and Harry are going into Fair Haven tonight? Interesting."

The captain nodded. "I suggested it," she said quietly, surprised at how appalled she sounded.

**Chapter Six**

"Tis glad I am to see you again, Katie." Michael O'Sullivan, Fair Haven's erstwhile pub owner and bartender, greeted Kathryn Janeway as she entered his establishment.

"Good day to you, Michael," she said, looking around. "Business as usual?"

"Sometimes up and sometimes down."

He shrugged and poured out for Seamus, who turned around, lifting his glass toward her in toast. "T' yer health, Ms. O'Clare," Seamus offered, downing his tumbler's contents in one gulp.

"That hit the spot Michael, m'boy. I think I'll head over to chat up some friends."

"Ye do that." Michael smiled and wiped his hands on a towel. "So, Katie, where d'ye want to walk today?"

"Just out by the bluffs, I think. It's a clear day."

"That it is." He tucked a book under his arm and slipped out from behind the bar. "Don' mind if I read somethin' t'ye?"

Kathryn nodded. She had told Paris to reset Michael's program when he was rebuilding the Irish town. The wife had not been recreated and Michael continued to show an interest in poetry, and her, though she was careful to maintain it only as a friendship. "Fine with me." Besides, she added to herself, _I'm really here to make sure Seven and Harry are okay_.

She tucked her arm around Michael's elbow and accepted his grin as he led them out, down the road and toward the bluffs, covered with heather. Smells of springtime assailed her as they closed in on the high bluff path, curling along the edge of the sheer cliffs looming over the North Irish Sea.

Inhaling the salty scents of the sea, Janeway scanned the horizon, looking for signs of Seven and Harry. At least she hoped they would still be together inside the program. The couple had come an hour ago, Janeway only able to break from her shift a few minutes prior. A lot could have happened in an hour, she thought, heart sinking just a little.

Finally she spotted the couple walking together about two hundred yards ahead among the hardy gorse bushes that dotted the rocky terrain. Harry was talking, but at this distance Janeway could not hear the words. Seven had her hands tucked behind her back, occasionally looking at him from her perpetual study of the ground.

Harry was in a short black vest and billowy white shirt, and plaid breeches and buckle shoes. Beside him though, Seven flauted the conventions of the time, wearing a cotton blend bliaunt, belted across her slim waist over a pair of dark brown close-fitting pants. Janeway thought she looked like a rakish pirate, and even her hair was down, though pulled back in a low ponytail, the golden curls scattered by the bluff winds.

"Katie? What d'ye think about sittin' here and readin'?"

The captain shook her head, scattering her thoughts, and looked up at Michael. "Hmm?"

"Something int'restin' up on the road ahead?" he asked. "Ye've been starin'."

"Oh. Well, I..." She glanced up the path again and watched Harry and Seven step off into the grass, settling onto the ground. "We can sit here if you like."

"I'd like that," he said with a grin. "It's been a while since we sat on a bluff together, just watching the ships leavin' the harbor."

"I know." She arranged her skirts and settled to the ground, Michael taking up a bit of the space to her right. Trying to be less obvious, she positioned herself so that she could see Seven or Michael, with only a slight adjustment toward either one. Satisfied for the moment, she tucked her hands in her lap and prompted, "Go ahead."

Michael's brow furrowed but only for a moment. With a grin that Janeway had remembered falling in love with, but which only mildly amused her now, he began reading aloud.

* * *

Further up the bluff, Seven felt the grass under her palms, the setting sun on her face, the smell of salt in her nose and noted the darkening blue of the sky. Scanning the horizon and listening as Harry Kim told her of his night on gamma shift, she identified the captain settled on the ground with Michael. A flutter settled deep in her stomach as she observed the woman's attire and found it met the description of "flattering", accenting the narrow waist and slender shoulders. The skirt of the dress belled around her tucked up feet.

"So... do you like it here?" Harry's question drew her attention back to him.

"The atmosphere is... very nice," she replied, aware of a little irritation toward the ensign. "This is considered a 'romantic' setting?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah. That's the idea. Seven, I've been thinking a lot about... well, us." He grinned at her sheepishly. "I know you've said I was not considered when you were contemplating your... first date." He leaned forward and smiled, Seven presumed the expression he was attempting was one of reassurance. It vaguely resembled the smile the captain would offer at times when she was trying to be reassuring. But instead it made her feel slightly vulnerable. "What do you think now? We're friends. I'd like to think we could mean more to each other."

Seven definitely felt vulnerable at the moment, she decided. But the captain wants you to "work it out" she reminded herself. Thinking of the captain made her look toward Michael and Janeway's location. The bartender was reading from a small book. But Janeway was looking at her.

Across the distance, Seven's breath caught in her throat as she suddenly realized she would rather be over there than over here, and started to her feet.

"Seven?"

"I wish to go."

"No. Wait."

Janeway too jumped to her feet, Michael swiftly gaining his footing beside her. In the next instant, the captain had swiped the book from the bartender and crossed toward them on the bluff.

"Harry? Seven?"

"Captain!" Not expecting the captain to be present in the simulation, Harry was flummoxed for the moment scrambling for a response, and his footing. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Janeway stepped up, standing between him and Seven. "I thought you might enjoy this." She handed the book to Harry and started to back away.

"Captain?" Seven stepped forward, but Janeway turned quickly, Michael following her off the bluff. "What is in the book?" she demanded of Harry.

"Looks like a collection of Irish poetry," he said, scanning the pages, clearly confused.

Seven took the old-fashioned bound volume from him and opened the pages.

A verse caught her eye and she read in silence, ignoring Harry, who stood to one side.

_When night stirred at sea_  
_And the fire brought a crowd in,_  
_They say that her beauty_  
_Was music in mouth_  
_And few in the candlelight_  
_Thought her too proud,_  
_For the house of the planter_  
_Is known by the trees._  
_Men that had seen her_  
_Drank deep and were silent,_  
_The women were speaking_  
_Wherever she went -_  
_As a bell that is rung_  
_Or a wonder told shyly,_  
_And O she was the Sunday_  
_In every week._

Seven inhaled and looked where the captain had gone. Yes, this was how she felt. "I must go," she said, carrying the book with her as she strode off the bluff and called "Computer, exit."

She did not even pause to realize that the book did not vanish as she crossed the threshold and made another request of the computer. "Where is Captain Janeway?"

_"Captain Janeway is on Deck 3, in the captain's quarters."_

The turbolift seemed to take forever, but at last Seven stepped onto deck 3 and walked the familiar path to Janeway's quarters. Purpose lent her quickness and she was inside the captain's quarters before she could consider the manners of knocking.

The captain reclined, the golden halo of a lamp touching her dark auburn locks with fiery red highlights as she read by its light. The woman had not changed from her holodeck costume and Seven, a sensation like hunger clawing at her stomach, studied the small feet in soft shoes peeking from beneath the skirt of the captain's dress. Everything about Janeway, here, now, bespoke small, delicate.

So why did Seven feel like she was about to approach the biggest, most powerful person in the entire universe?

The woman's knees were bent, a surface for the book she read. Wide eyes lifted, in a controlled sweep, up to meet Seven of Nine's gaze as she stepped further into the captain's private sanctuary. The voice, half-command, half-question, all Kathryn, asked, "Seven?"

Crouching by the recliner, Seven reached out and touched Janeway's hand, tugging it away from the book. She had to know. "Why did you help him?"

"Because you deserve having someone love you." Janeway tried tugging her hand from Seven's and tried to look away. She failed at both, caught up in Seven's unwavering gaze.

"And what of me?"

Kathryn put the book aside and shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Should I not be happy with the one I love?"

Janeway shook her head. "You can't possibly... I'm..."

"It must be possible. Because I am." Seven caressed Janeway's fingers trapped in her own and questioned, as Janeway's eyes grew dark, and sad. "Why would you deny it?"

"How could I not? You are... my pupil... so young. Inexperienced." She sighed. "You deserve so much happiness. There are so many obstacles."

"There are no obstacles. I love you, Kathryn Janeway."

"You sound so sure."

"I am sure."

Janeway's hand came up and brushed Seven's cheek. "So sweet. So beautiful." She admitted shyly, "I loved the sound of your laughter."

"As I have always found yours." Janeway laughed then, also crying a bit, and Seven tugged her into a firm embrace, kissing her hair and lips and face.

"Oh God," Janeway said as Seven and she continued kissing. The blonde lifted up on her knees and surrounded Janeway in her warm presence. "What am I going to do about Harry?"

With a twinkle in her blue eyes, Seven leaned back. "Perhaps I could help you... write him a note?"

"You knew it was me."

"I did." Seven paused, looking at the book in her right hand before looking back at the captain's face; she touched the other woman's cheek reverently. "I couldn't understand why he was so inarticulate when we were together, but could touch my heart with the written word." She brushed her lips briefly across Janeway's again. "Now I know." She touched the fabric over Janeway's left breast. "It was not his heart that had spoken to mine."

**THE END**

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The poem read by Seven is by Austin Clarke, titled "The Planter's Daughter."


End file.
